Kids and Cars asks for recall after two children perish in locked trunk

After the deaths last week of two Arkansas children who became locked in a car trunk, Kids and Cars has asked General Motors to recall sedans made in the 2000-01 model year before trunk-release latches became standard equipment.

Curtis Markley, 5, and his sister Virgina, 4, of Springdale, AR were discovered dead in the locked trunk of a 2000 Chevrolet Malibu. An autopsy report lists the cause of death as accidental environmental hyperthermia, or high body temperature. The temperature was in the 80s the day the siblings went missing.

Janette Fennell, founder and president of Kids and Cars, said she's sure Curtis and Virginia would have found their way out of the trunk if the car had been equipped with an emergency latch. She is pressing for a recall of older sedans.

Jeannine Fruehan, a spokesman for GM, told the Arkansas Democrat Gazette that she wouldn't speculate whether the company would issue a recall. "The situation is tragic, and we were very sad to learn of the unfortunate deaths of these children. But to speak to what we will do as manufacturer without having more information would be premature," she said.

Every year, some 10 to 20 people die trapped in a car trunk, estimates Fennell. Interior release handles have been mandatory since the 2002 model year. Entrapment incidents mostly happen in older cars, which aren't equipped with release handles.

To remedy that, some carmakers offered retrofit kits, but they are no longer available. Consumer Reports tested a retrofit kit called the Quick-Out Emergency Trunk Release that is available for $18 including shipping and handling. We found the kit easy to install using common tools. The handle glows in the dark making it easy to find, and the force required to pull the trunk release was easy for an adult.

If you are buying a sedan made before 2002, check to see if it's equipped with an interior trunk-release handle. If not, install the Quick-Out Emergency Trunk Release.

Update: Earlier this month we wrote about the deaths of two children mistakenly left in cars—in two separate incidents—who died of hyperthermia. Since then we have learned of the deaths of four more children—two in Florida and one each in Louisiana and Kentucky—who died in this manner. To learn more about children and car safety, visit our car safety section.

Comments

[Tom Magdaleno]

What a joke. Take some personal responsibility and don’t expect regulations to make everything safe. GM is always the bad guy I guess.